Flair by Betty: Betty Kyalo is a media personality who doubles up as a mother and a woman in business. Starting out, Betty had partnered with her lawyer friend Susan Kaitanny, and together they opened up a high-end beauty parlour, The Posh Palace.
Business was good and growing with celebrities, the rich son and daughters of so and so flocking the business, to get beautified and support one of their own. But the business hit a rough patch and ended in a scandalous manner, that saw Betty Kyalo fall out of the partnership with her bestie.
There are three ways to go broke: ‘liquor, ladies and leverage’ – Warren Buffett
Many thought it’s all dead and done for Betty, but a few months later, she opened her own luxurious beauty parlour, Flair by Betty which picked up so fast, giving her competitors a run for their money. In June this year, she relaunched her high-end salon at a new more spacious location on a two-storey building along Rose Avenue in Kilimani.
In an interview by Hustle Magazine, Betty shared lessons and struggles to get Flair by Betty up and running:
1. Invest in the culture of saving and learn how to sacrifice or forego unnecessary expenditure for the greater good.
“I leveraged on my savings, making personal sacrifices such as forgoing a holiday or extensive shopping. I even had to make some painful decisions, such as using cash that I’d saved up for my daughter just to get Flair by Betty off the ground,” She told the magazine
2.Identifying your stronghold in business and investing in consumers preferences and taste, will make your business stand out.
“I’d already put my hand in this industry and knew that you can’t go wrong with a product that targets women. Most of us want to look good and will do anything to achieve the look we want. I simply created a homely place where my customers can spend quality time,” She told Hustle Magazine.
3. Be ambitious, be bold, hustle until you make it. Don’t give up on your idea because it looks unachievable. Face your fears and work your way around it. Look for help from mentors and friends.
“As a young person venturing into the big league of business, I had my apprehensions. Like many others, I was fearful that I would fail. On the other hand, I told myself that you can’t fail in business if you’ve never tried. So I needed to look at my idea critically. I scrutinised it and analysed the smallest of details. I demolished the idea and reconstructed it. I enlisted the help of my family, who actually tore up my idea. There were times I was heartbroken. In the end, however, I found a formula that worked. If you are young and thinking that you can’t hack it, call on the people you trust without exposing your ideas to those who might work against it, ” she advised.
